


Broken Wings

by bgilbert



Category: Video Blogging & YouTube RPF
Genre: Camping, F/M, Self-Harm, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 19:10:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1869150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgilbert/pseuds/bgilbert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A High School!AU where Brooke is sad and Liam is confused. Beth’s pinning over the star football player who happens to have a top secret Pokémon collection. They go camping in the summer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This does contain thoughts and actions of self-harm.

**_Now_ **

It’s not that Brooke regretted agreeing to join the trip. Going to a cabin on a private part of the land with her closest friends will be an amazing experience. She wouldn’t have to worry about school or family problems. No responsibilities or expectations; and of course, she would be able to spend all day with Liam.

So, yeah of course Brooke was jittery from the obvious excitement as she loaded her last bag into the back of Mr. Webb’s car, but she was also nervous. She had never stayed away from the comfort of her home for very long, a couple of days, maybe. But this trip was two weeks long. Brooke never liked staying out for very long, always so anxious to get back to her bedroom so she could breathe.

“Brooke!” a voice broke her out of her jumbled thoughts. Brooke turned around and a soft smile grew on her face as her eyes lay on Liam. She walked over and took his hand, leading them to his car. Before Brooke could slip into the car, Liam grabbed her hips and pressed her back to the door, closing it. “Are you okay?” he asked under his breath.

"Yeah" she said nonchalantly, "I’m fine. Just a little nervous."

"If you don’t want to go, we can stay here. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or-"

"Hey, shhh. I’m okay, babe." she smiled brightly hoping it would convince him. Liam smiled back, eyes flickering between her ever-changing eyes and her plump lips.

Brooke’s eyes fell shut and Liam closed the distance between their lips. Brooke relaxed as Liam wrapped his arms around her waist. Although Liam and Brooke had been together for over a year now, she doesn’t think she’ll ever get use to his soft touches and caring glances.

The kiss deepened and Brooke reached up to wrap her hands in his hair, tangling her fingers in his brown locks. Liam weaved his tongue with hers, moaning quietly.

Suddenly a car horn honked and the couple jumped apart, a red blush reaching their cheeks.

"As much as I’d like to see you eat each other’s faces, we need to leave!" Harrison yelled out of the car window.

Liam rolled his eyes and opened the door for Brooke to get in. She giggled and buckled up, “Shut up and drive, then.”

Liam laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. Beth groaned from the passenger seat, “They’re at it again!”

Brooke rolled her eyes fondly as her friends began arguing over the amount of PDA that was acceptable.  _Whatever._

**-o-**

**_22 Months Ago (Before)_ **

Brooke had started off the school year at a school in Florida. It was her first year attending the school and living in the state, because of her parent’s ever-changing work locations.

And quite frankly, it was shit. The teachers were annoying, the work was confusing because they were way ahead of her old school’s schedule, and she had no one to speak to.

It wasn’t until she was forced into a group for a history project because no one else wanted her to be in their group.

"Aw, c’mon Ms. Wiley! We already have enough people in our group! We don’t need her!" Erica protested.

Brooke sighed and looked down at the floor.

"The more, the merrier!" Ms. Wiley replied, before turning away to pass out instructions. Erica groaned and plopped back down on her seat.

"Okay!" Ms. Wiley started, passing out the last of the papers. "Each group is assigned a decade and two different countries. There are no set guidelines, but you are required to do research about those countries in that decade. You can talk about any wars they were in, the works of their economic system, and cultural differences. Those are just a few brief ideas."

Fuck, this was too much work already. Brooke did not like working in groups and now she had to work with girls that were rude and so far annoying. She glanced over to see them whispering and giggling, not paying attention at all.

Ms. Wiley continued, “And then there is a second part. Your group must also present your information in front of the class, with two demonstrations. For example, you can show a slide show, or bring in any type of miscellaneous things that represents that country in the time period.”

Groans went around the room but the teacher just waved them off. “All papers must be turned in two weeks from today. I will assign what order your groups will present. You can take the rest of the hour to brainstorm.” and with that Ms. Wiley went back to her desk to do whatever teachers do.

"Okay so, we should probably introduce ourselves, even though we all know each other except for her." and she gestured to Brooke. "I’m Jessie!" said a bubbly girl with blonde hair. Brooke remembered seeing her last week, shoving her tongue down a guy’s throat in the hallway. She also remembers how hard she rolled her eyes as she walked by them to get to her English class.

The girl with unnaturally red hair next to her laughed and said, “And I’m Kendall. This is Erica.” She pointed to the girl that had spoken out against her joining their group. She rolled her eyes and glared at the wall.

Brooke nodded and said. “Hi, my name’s Brooke…”

“Did you even go to this school last year?” Erica blurted out.

“Uh, no. I just moved here.”

“Figures.” Erica muttered. Brooke’s eyes flicked down to her crooked teeth that had a stain of red lipstick on them. Huh. She swallowed and looked away.

“Anyways, we have France and Canada in the 1950s.” Jessie said. “Does anyone know about either of them?”

Everyone shook their heads. “We can start researching today, after school! Come over my house.” Kendall said. Erica and Jessie agreed but Brooke spoke up.

“Where do you live?” Brooke asked.

“Give me your number and I’ll text you. Might as well give us all your number, we’ll probably need it.” Kendall said.

Brooke said her number her to the girls and the bell rung. “I’ll be sure to text you.” Kendall said.

“Okay.” Brooke responded before heading to her next class.

-

The four girls had met up after school almost everyday and now the project was due in three days. You’d think that since they have one more extra person in their group that they would be making any final adjustments today, but of course it never works out in Brooke’s favor.

When Kendall invited them to come over, it resulted in the three girls gossiping and pampering while Brooke tried to do as much research as she could. She managed to write the entire essay, but now she had to teach them everything she had researched and wrote in the past two weeks. The presentation was a most important part of the whole project and if Brooke was the only one talking while presenting, then Ms. Wiley would know something was up.

Brooke cleared her throat to get the three girls attention away from their magazines. “Okay so our two countries were France and Canada-“

“Obviously.” Erica interrupted, rolling her eyes. Kendall and Jessie giggled.

Brooke blinked. “Um. So I made a slide show for one demonstration. Do you want to see it?” They shrugged and walked over to the laptop to look.

Brooke went through the PowerPoint and said, “The main information and stuff is on here. I also made sets of flash cards for all of us, so we can read from those.” Brooke gets the index cards out of her backpack and hands them out.

“Wait, don’t we need two demonstrations?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t think of anything else. Do you guys know anything we can bring in?” Brooke said, plopping down back on the computer chain. Her stomach growled but she ignores it. Do these girls ever eat?

“Maybe we can find a video on YouTube?” Kendall suggested.

“No, I already looked on YouTube…” Brooke answered.

“Well… I’m good at painting.” Erica said. “Maybe I can paint something in time for the presentation. Here, I’ll sketch something out real quick and show you guys!”

“That’s a good idea.” Brooke smiled. Finally they were actually trying. Okay, she can do this. She can work with this. Brooke practices the flash cards with Kendall and Jessie. Ten minutes later, Erica shows her a cool sketch for a mash between the Canadian and French flag. All the girls compliment her and plan on meeting up the day before the presentation for one more practice.

**-**

Everything was ready. They all knew the information they needed and the painting was done drying. Easily enough, history was right after lunch, so the group had time to set up their stuff.

“Are you nervous? I’m nervous.” Jessie said as the bell rang and the class began filling.

“No, we’ll be fine. Trust me.” Brooke said, smiling. The class started and group after group presented. Most of them were actually interesting, some were too boring. It was their turn next. Brooke trailed behind the three girls. They ‘forgot’ to tell her they were dressing up in skirts today, while Brooke wore jeans and an Avenged Sevenfold hoodie.  _Nice._

Ms. Wiley smiled and said, “Okay girls. Your time starts now.” She clicked the timer and sat back.

Brooke opened her mouth to begin but was stopped by Erica saying, “Our countries were Canada and France in the 1950s.” Brooke frowned as Erica continued talking. _What the fuck?_  That was her line! Why weren’t they going with the script? Brooke must have blanked out for a little bit because when she came back to earth, the class was laughing. “What?”

“It’s your turn!” Kendall whispered urgently.

Erica coughed, “Retard.” The people who heard the small comment giggled under their breath, including Kendall and Jessie.

Brooke swallowed the lump in her throat, “Um, the uh…” Her hands shook as she looked down at the cue cards. She had no idea where they were because this was not what they were  _supposed to do._

Erica rolled her eyes, snatched the cards from Brooke’s hands and read off the next line, gesturing to the PowerPoint on the board. Brooke’s cheeks burned red and her eyes were rimmed with tears. Shit, don’t cry,  _don’t cry._

The three other girls said their lines (well, including Brooke lines too) while Brooke glared at the ground underneath her feet to open and swallow her whole. When they were finally done the class clapped politely and Brooke stumbled through the walk of shame to her desk, putting her head down until the end of class.

When everyone finished presenting and the bell rung, Brooke rushed to get out of the classroom, but was stopped by Erica and her posse outside of the door. Erica yelled, “What the hell, you didn’t even say anything! Are you stupid?!”

Brooke was shaking with rage and embarrassment. “No, I’m not fucking stupid; you didn’t read what you were supposed to read! I got lost; I didn’t even know where you guys left off! You should have just-“

“Hey, don’t blame this on us! We did everything we needed to do. Erica even painted the picture for us! You should be thanking us.” Kendall said, hand on her hip. More people were staring at them arguing.

 _“Thanking you?!_ I basically did the whole fucking project! I typed the whole essay and made the PowerPoint! You just sat on your lazy asses and- “ A hand whipped across Brooke’s cheek and it felt as if the whole school grew silent. Brooke brought a hand up to her face and gasped, looking at Jessie who still had her hand raised.

Without thinking, Brooke turned around and ran while everyone in the hall began laughing. She felt their glares burn into her back as she dodged people through the hall. Brooke could hear the faint yell from Erica, “You better run, you  _bitch!”_  She went to one of the girls bathrooms and locked herself in the stall until school was over.

-

**_Now_ **

The trip to the cabin was two hours and the car was calming as Beth and Brooke napped and music playing quietly in the background. Harrison pulled into the driveway and shut off the ignition. 

Harrison twisted to look at Liam. “I’ll wake up Beth and we’ll go set things up.” he whispered. Liam nodded and cast his eyes down to Brooke.

She looked so peaceful when she slept. He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, dragged his fingers down her cheek. “Brooke” he murmured.

She grumbled something under her breath and shifted more into his arms. “Baby, we’re here. Wake up.”

"Noooo." she whined softly, her eyes still closed. "I’m too tired."

Liam laughed quietly. “Well then I guess I’ll have to find a way to wake you up, huh?”

Brooke ignored him and tried to sleep again. Then Liam’s fingers were tickling her sides. “No!” she screamed, laughing.

"Too late!" he yelled, tickling her harder. "You have to say the magic words for me to stop!"

"Never!" Brooke screeched, trying to move away from his hands.

Liam shook his head. “Do it, or else I’m not stopping!”

She couldn’t take it anymore. “Ok! I’ll say it!”

Liam slowed down a little, “Go on, and say it.”

"Liam is the sexiest person alive." she muttered, slapping his hands away.

"Louder!" he laughed, and grabbed at her sides again.

"LIAM IS THE SEXIEST PERSON ALIVE!" she yelled. She laid back on him, giggling. “I hate you.”

“Aw, I love you too,” he joked, smiling.

Brooke looked up at him with big puppy eyes. “Carry me?”

Liam groaned fondly. He kissed her and said, “How do you except me to say no to that face?!”

Brooke grinned. “You’re not supposed to. Now, saddle up horsy!”

-

**_Before_ **

Brooke never knew how fast gossip could spread. She didn’t come back to school the next day, her stomach on edge and her cheek bruised. But when she did come back, everyone knew. They whispered and laughed as she made her way to her classes.

Things were thrown at her during lunch and profanities written on her locker in sharpie. If she happened to pass Jessie, Kendall, or Erica during school they would make fun of her clothes or spread untrue rumors about her that spread like wildfire. And even though school had only started a month ago, so far everyone thinks that she worships the devil, sleeps with one of the science teachers, and stole money from the student council’s charity earning for research for cancer. It got worse as time went on.

Rumors came and went each bruising Brooke’s happiness more and more. She would put on her brave face whenever anyone was around. She couldn’t let them win, let them know how much it hurt to be called fat, a whore, a slut, a bitch everyday.

One day after school, her mom walked in on her crying into her pillow. For three days her parents wouldn’t stop bugging her about what happened until she lied to them saying she ‘just read a really sad book.’ She decided not to leave her door unlocked anymore after that.

Her breaking point was in March. It was spring and it was starting not to look so dreary outside. Brooke couldn’t wait for summer. No more bullies, no more rude comments and no more school.

On Monday after a relieving weekend, Brooke trudged to her locker to get her books for her first class. But when her locker swung open, a foul odor instant hit her like a semi-truck. Brooke kept her distance from the locker and peaked in to find, a pile of shit. Poop, feces, whatever you want to call it, it was disgusting. Brooke shrieked and moved backwards from the smell to bump into someone. They pushed her off and laughed.  _Erica._

“Enjoying your present?” she sneered. Jessie and Kendall giggled behind her and Brooke looked up, furious.

“Did you put this in my locker?! Why would you do that?” Brooke yelled. She didn’t _mean_ to make a scene but she was definitely making a scene. This is probably what Erica wanted her to do; to embarrass herself. “You know what? I don’t even care. I’m sick of you.” Brooke turned to storm off when a hand grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back. She whimpered under her breath when Erica pushed her against the wall. “We’re not done until I say we’re done! Who do you think you are? You can’t walk into my school and act like you own the place.” Erica growled, spit coming from her mouth as she talked.

“Who says you run this school? You’re such a bitch! You spread rumors about me that are not true and you apparently hate me for no reason!” Brooke ranted.

Now a group of students were surrounding them and eyes were trained on Erica who shifted nervously. Jessie and Kendall took a step back from their leader. This was really starting to feel like a really bad movie but Brooke continued, “I never did anything to you! You didn’t like me the moment you saw me. You throw food at me during lunch, put shit in my locker and tell teachers I cheat on homework. You have some kind of crazy obsession with me, and it needs to stop!”

The crowd went wild with “Ooooh!” and Brooke has never seen Erica so mad. Brooke smirked, finally feeling in control. But that’s when Erica had enough. Erica rushed forward and punched Brooke right in the nose. Brooke stumbled back in surprise. Jessie and Kendall finally snapped out of it and ran forward to bring Brooke to the ground.

Punch after punch was delivered to Brooke body and even though they weren’t that hard, they still hurt. She swung back, hitting Kendall above the brow and kicking Erica in the shin. Erica climbed on top of her and slapped her. Brooke rolled them over and punched Erica harder.

Teachers ran through the circle of rowdy student and pulled Brooke off of her. The principal yelled, “You have ten seconds to get to class or else, you will get a week of detention.” The crowd scattered away to their classes.

“Go to my office immediately.” The Principal (what was his names?) growled. His face seemed too red to be healthy. He stormed off down the hall. The four girls were pulled into the main office and into the Principal’s room. They were told to wait in silence and then the door was slammed closed.

They sat there for almost 20 minutes until Erica grumbled, “I can’t believe you.” There were a couple of scratches on her cheeks and her elbow was bleeding. Brooke felt blood trickle from her lip. Her parents were going to be so pissed. She silently prayed the Mr. Principal Man wouldn’t call them-

Then in walks her parents accompanied by the other girls’ parents too.  _Well, shit._

-

**_Now_ **

Liam doubled over in laughter, dropping Brooke to the floor on accident, “Hey, I’m fragile!” Brooke giggled. Liam bent down to mess her hair up a little then walked into the kitchen to talk to Harrison. “How many rooms are there?” he asked, taking a water bottle from the fridge.

“There are three. I assume you and Brooke don’t mind sharing?” Harrison smirked.

“We’ll manage.” Liam replied, rolling his eyes. Brooke plopped down on the seat next to Beth at the kitchen table.

“I’m so excited.” Beth said to her best friend. Brooke nodded then Beth smile grew to a creepy grin and said “I can’t wait for all the swimming and hiking and s’mores! This is gonna be so fun, right Brooke!” Brooke laughed, Beth sounded like a Girl Scouts instructor.

“You’re such a dork.” she said fondly. “Now fuck off and get me some food!” she yelled, smiling. Beth rolled her eyes and laughed. “Get it yourself, you lazy butt.”  _Ahhh, what a beautiful friendship._

 

**_Before_ **

Needless to say it didn’t go well. The there girls blamed to whole fight on Brooke, saying that she blew up and attacked them. Brooke denied the lies but it did nothing to help because Mr. Principal Asshole Guy is Jessie’s uncle, and Brooke couldn’t win even if she tried. She has a week of suspension and according her parents, grounded for life.

Brooke walked into her room quietly. Her parents yelled at her the entire ride home. All about self-control and kindness and blah blah blah.

She wanted to scream until her lungs her worn out. She itched to punch something or fling it against the wall. Tears of frustration streamed down her face.

What was wrong with her? Why did they have to be so horrible to her? The cruel words they called her whirled around her mind over and over.  _Whore, fat, ugly, stupid. Whore, fat, ugly, stupid. Whore, fat, ugly, stupid._

Brooke felt sick to her stomach. She stumbled over misplaced clothes and shoes on her floor to get to her bathroom. She made it to the toilet just in time to empty herself of the food she had eaten earlier. The harder she cried, the more pathetic she felt.

Brooke wasn’t used to this. She couldn’t take this abuse from other people. She had never felt so much pain and sorrow in her heart. She needed a release from the pain in her heart. When her tears slowed down, she took a few deep breaths.

Brooke stood up to rinse out her mouth and look up into the mirror. To her, her cheeks looked bloated and too red and stained with runaway eyeliner. Brooke saw a glint of metal in the corner of her sight. A razor.

Hands fumbling, she dismembered the tool. The turned a single razor blade in her fingers, her thoughts jumbled up. Brooke cut a single line across her arm, hurting more than she thought it would.

That night was the start of a bad habit that wouldn’t be easy to stop. It was a start of a bad habit that could jeopardize things for her in the future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A High School!AU where Brooke is sad and Liam is confused and just wants to help. Beth’s the nerd that’s pinning over the star football player who happens to have a top secret Pokemon collection. They go camping in the summer.

It was just about six in the evening when the four of them finally got done unpacking. Beth suggested they relax for the rest of the day. So Harrison brought out some DVDs and Brooke made a huge pile of blankets and pillows in the middle of the living room floor.

Brooke noticed Liam wasn’t helping out, still in their room. “Liam! Get your ass out here, we’re watching Batman!” She went into the kitchen to get some drinks and snacks but when she came back, Liam still hadn’t joined them.

“Li-“ her yell was cut off my loud music blasting through the cabin. Brooke may or may not have dropping everything in her hands (and her jaw) when Liam ran out into the room with boxers on and a cowboy hat. “Right now he’s probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond tramp, and she’s probably getting frisky!” he sang horribly.

Harrison and Beth started laughing right away while Brooke was still so confused (and embarrassed) by his actions. But Liam continued to belt out the lyrics anyway. “Right now, he’s probably buying her some fruity little drink ‘cause she can’t shoot whiskey.”

Brooke busted out in laughter as Liam swayed his hips to the beat. The three out them soon joined in on his little dance. “Right now, he’s probably up behind her with a pool stick, showing her how to shoot a combo. And he don’t know…” Liam jumped up on the couch, grabbing the TV remote as a microphone.

“That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats!” Liam hopped up and down as he screeched out the words. “I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires… Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats.”

Brooke, Beth, and Harrison laughed and cheered throughout the whole song  _(/the whole fucking song/)_  and when Liam finished, dropping his ‘microphone’ on the floor, they screamed “Encore! Encore! Encore!” at the top of their lungs.

“Oh I’ll give you an encore!” he said, tackling them all to the pile of pillows and blankets. They all wrestle and laugh and Brooke decided she has the best friends ever.

~O~

Beth has never been a popular person and probably never will be. All of her life she’s been the girl in the back of the class, reading instead of paying attention to the teacher. That was until she met Brooke in 10th grade. They became friends immediately after realizing that hate the same people in their school. (How else are you supposed to make friends anyways?)

Months pasted and Brooke started dating Liam. This changed things for Beth. She started meeting new people, one of them being Harrison.

Ahh, Harrison. He was the star-football player. Every girl loved him, and Beth couldn’t even be ashamed that she liked him along with every other girl in their school because he was  _different._

What everyone saw at school wasn’t the real Harrison, and Brooke, Liam, and Beth quickly found that out after becoming close friends with Harrison.

At school, Harrison was a huge asshole, a stereotypical football player. He would push quiet students in the halls and walk around like he owned the place. He’d throw parties at his huge house whenever his parents weren’t home, too. Harrison sat with the guys from the team and cheerleaders at lunch, while Liam, Brooke, and Beth sat by their selves.

But what no one knew was that Harrison’s actually best friends with the kind of people football players prey on. Brooke, Liam, and Beth were his best friends (and sadly, his little secrets).

Liam and Harrison had been friends since basically birth. They stuck together through elementary and middle school but things definitely changed in freshman year. Harrison made it onto the varsity football team, which is a rarity for freshman, and Liam took a different route. He focused on music and finding himself, while Harrison got sucked into the whirlpool of popularity.

The older guys on the team, teased Harrison for hanging out with an ‘emo freak.’  Harrison was so fucking upset that he actually thought about leaving the team. Liam quickly shot down the idea. It was  _him_ who said they could hang out when no one was around. He cared about his best friend too much to have him make a mistake like that. So throughout freshman and sophomore year, they remained best friends, seeing each other everyday after school.

It was spring break in sophomore and Harrison hosted a party at his house. The whole school was invited, even the so-called ‘losers.’

Brooke was new to the school, having it only be her second week in town. It was already 20 times better than her last school. She had even made a friend, Beth. Beth was quiet but had a sarcastic mouth that had Brooke giggly throughout the day. When they heard about the party, Beth had rolled her eyes and muttered, “Yay, a party filled with sweaty jocks and topless cheerleaders. Woo.”

“Aw, come on it won’t be that bad! We should go!” Brooke said hopefully. Beth glared at her. They had only met a week ago and they were already very comfortable with each other. But it did take a lot of convincing (and food) to pressure Beth into going to the party with her.

And, yeah, the party was exactly what Beth said it would be, but a lot bigger than Brooke thought. First of all, this guy’s house was fucking huge. There were three floors, and a basement. The air was hazy with smoke but Brooke could still make out the expensive furniture that was pushed to the side.

The smell of booze, weed, and sweat was definitely in the air, which Beth bluntly pointed out, but muttering something under breath. Something about breathing in STDs. Brooke grabbed Beth’s arm and led them into the kitchen. Of course, they walked in one multiple couples making out (or more like sucking each other’s faces off.)

“Gross.” Beth muttered.

“Um, let’s just-“ Brooke turned around and bumped into someone.

“Woah!” his drink splashed on her top and she yelped.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” Beth said defensively.

The guy whipped his head back and forth between Beth and Brooke franticly, before quickly grabbing a handful of napkins from the counter. He thrust them at Brooke, “Sorry, sorry!”

“Oh god, what is this shit?” Brooke groaned, uselessly wiping it off her ruined shirt.

“It’s a mix of Pepsi, vodka, and orange juice, but you need to-“

Beth sputtered, “Did he just say vodka, Pepsi, and orange juice?! Why the hell are you drinking that?”

Brooke glared at Beth, “Stop being rude.” She turned to Liam, and paused. His brown messy hair and plump lips stood out. Brooke wanted to run her fingers against his smooth, pale skin.

“Uh- hi. What were you saying?” Brooke murmured, looking down.

He smiled at her and said, “I can help you clean that off if you want. There’s a bathroom upstairs…”

“Yeah, sure! Thanks. What’s your name, by the way? I’m Brooke.” Brooke said.

“’m name’s Liam. It’s nice to meet you Brooke.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Liam. Lead the way.”

They both began forward when Beth took hold of Brooke’s arm, “Woah, you’re gonna leave me here alone?”

Brooke glanced back at the cute guy, and then glared at Beth again. “You’ll manage. I’ll text you later, okay?”

Beth rolled her eyes, and waved them off. She needed a drink.

-

For the rest of the party, Beth kind of lingered. She walked around, enjoying all the drama and drunken ways of stupid teens. So far she’s witnessed two fights, a guy puking a vase (poor flowers), and four breakups. Although it’s entertaining, she wished Brooke hadn’t ditched her that guy.

Beth weaves her way through the crowd to get another drink because there’s no way she’s trusting the drinks some guys are handing out. She stumbles into the dining room, where loads of alcoholic beverages are. She already had two beers, so she looks around the long table for something different to try out.

“I like mixing vodka, Pepsi, and orange juice.” someone said behind her.

Beth rolled her eyes but continued looking through the drinks, “Ugh, you again. Where’s Brooke?” She turned around and paused. That was definitely not the guy from early. This was  _Harrison Webb._ The star football whose million dollar house there were standing and he was hot as fuck.

“Oh. You’re not the guy from earlier…” she said stupidly. She mentally kicked herself for embarrassing herself already. But Harrison just smiled and said, “Are you talking about Liam?”

“Yeah! That’s him. How do you know him? He didn’t look like he would be someone you know…” Beth said. Then she realized she probably shouldn’t have said that by the look on Harrison’s face.

“Uh… yeah, I guess you’re right.” He paused and Beth could see his Adam’s apple bob. “But actually Liam’s my best friend. I’ve known him for forever. We’re like brothers.”

“O-oh. That’s cool.” Ugh, Beth sounds so  _not cool_ right now. “Is that why you both like vodka, orange juice, and Pepsi?” Beth makes a face just thinking about it.

Harrison laughs, “Yeah. We came up with the creation. Do you want me to make it for you?” Before Beth could decline the offer, Harrison hurriedly gathered the ingredients and began mixing.

A minute later, Harrison holds the red cup of ‘death’ and waits for her to take it.

“Okay, even though you’re hot you can  _not_  make me drink that.” Beth said, pointing accusingly at the red cup. Harrison freezes and it takes Beth far too long to realize what she just admitted. “Shit.”

Then Harrison doubles over in laughter, some of the concoction spilling over the rim of the plastic cup. He’s laughing the hardest he has in a long time but Beth just stands there, watching awkwardly.

 When the laughs finally subsided and there were only a few giggles left, Harrison looked up at Beth, eyes wide. “You’re pretty cool, you know that?”

Beth blushed, “Thanks, I try.”

Harrison grinned, “And will you try this as well?” he stretched the cup towards Beth once again and with hesitation, she accepts.

Beth takes  _forever just_  to take a sip, even with Harrison saying. “Trust me, you’ll love it. I wouldn’t lie to my new friend already!”

Beth groaned.  _Fuck it._  Beth clenches her eyes shut and gulps the drink down in seconds.

When Beth slams the cup down on the table and stares as Harrison cheers and claps. But when she slaps a hand over her mouth, Harrison jumps to action pulling her into one of the many bathrooms in his home.

-

When Brooke agreed to follow Liam into one of the bathrooms, she didn’t think that things would move so quickly. And by things, she means kissing. And lots of it at that. Not that she was complaining, because she  _wasn’t_. it’s not everyday that a very attractive guy makes out with you at a huge party.

But it almost seemed too real to be true, as his hands laced through her hair and her hips pressed back against the edge of the sink. Brooke pulled back, breathing out, “What happened to cleaning the stain out of my shirt.”

Liam kissed down her neck with a passion, and whispered, “I’d much rather do  _this_ , if you don’t mind.”

Brooke let out a breathy laugh and Liam’s eyes met hers, “You’re quite beautiful,” he said, with amazement in his eyes. And just for now, Brooke felt beautiful. She soaked in the attention she was giving her, because it felt so nice to be wanted. Liam leaned in to kiss her again when the bathroom door slammed open.

Brooke jumped back, trying to detangle herself from Liam, but he pulled her back in. he maneuvered them into a corner of the bathroom as a tall brunette and Beth fled to the- wait.  _Beth?!_

Harrison lifted the toilet seat just in time for Beth to puke into the bowl. Brooke groaned at the sight and nestled her head into Liam’s shoulder so she wouldn’t have to see.

“We leave your friend for 45 minutes and now she’s puking while Harrison is holding her hair back. It’s a small world.” Liam said, surprisingly amused.

Brooke couldn’t help but laugh. A groan from Beth cut her off though, and she turned back to see Beth face first on the cold tile of the bathroom floor. Brooke walked over to Beth, slowly bending down and placing a hand on her forehead. She didn’t seem too warm.

Brooke glanced up at this Harrison guy, “What happened? I was just with her less than an hour ago!”

“It’s not my fault! I offered to make her a drink and-“

Liam snorted, “Was it the orange juice, Pepsi, and vodka?”

Harrison’s face turned red and he guiltily nodded. Liam laughed and patted him on the back sympathetically.

“Well, what am I supposed to do with her now? She’s knocked out and may or may not wake up any moment to puke again.” Brooke whined. What has become of her life? She would have never thought this is what she has to worry about when she came to a new school.

Liam and Harrison shared a look and then Liam sighed, “I guess you guys can stay here tonight, if you want. It’s about…” he checks the time on his phone, “2 am. I’ll tell everyone party’s over.”

He went to leave, but Brooke reached out towards him. “Wait! I don’t want to be a bother-“

“No, it’s totally fine. Liam will show you to my room.” and he left down the stairs. Brooke glanced at Liam. He shrugged, and then nodded towards Beth’s still body on the cold bathroom tile. They lifted her by one arm each and half dragged, half carried her into one of the guest rooms.

Liam managed to flick on the light switch with one hand. There was a huge bed in the nicely decorated room. They finished the last steps to the bed, the stumbled into a pile onto Harrison’s bed. Groans from all three of them filled the room.

Beth moaned, “If you’re not off of me in 2 seconds, I won’t hesitate to puke on you. And trust me, it won’t be hard not to.” Liam and Brooke hopped off the bed and onto the floor, so they were both lying on their backs, side by side. The music from the party was shut off and Brooke could hear the yells of complaints. She couldn’t help but laugh at the drunken slurs and insults being thrown.

Liam turned his head over and glanced at Brooke. Her brown, wavy hair was fanned out around her head and her eyes were bright with laughter. He smiled and leaned up on his elbow. “Hey,” he whispered.

She turned her head towards him curiously. Liam continued, “Your eyes are when you laugh, you should do it more often.” Brooke’s eyes widen, in what seemed to be disbelief. Liam leaned down and pecked her lips once, twice, then kissed her again, longer this time.

Brooke had never met a guy that was so interested in her so soon. It made her a little weary of his true intentions, but for now she’ll just enjoy his company and his lips-

“Ugh, are you guys making out  _again?!_  Get a room! One far, far away from me!” Beth groaned.

Liam and Brooke laughed and slowly made their way out of the room. “Call out for me if you need anything, okay? I already texted our parents, saying we’re staying over each other’s house. I hope you feel better, Beth.” Brooke said, silently shutting the door afterwards.

-

When everyone finally left the house (or fucking castle as Beth likes to put it), Harrison made his way upstairs. He pasted Liam’s guest bedroom to make sure everything was okay, and- Woah. Yep, everything was more than okay between Liam and Brooke. (Did they really have to make out right now?!)

Harrison silently slipped into his room, trying not to disturb Beth. He grabbed some sweatpants and a t-shirt for himself and a spare pair for Beth. She was lying on her back, eyes closed and mouth ajar.

“Beth? Are you awake?” he whispered. Her eyes snapped out open and she muttered, “Well I am now. What do you want?”

Harrison chuckled softly. “I brought you clothes to change into. Jeans are quite uncomfortable to sleep in if you ask me.”

Beth groaned but got up to change anyways. Harrison handed her the clothes and stepped out of the room. He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and change, then went back to wait outside of his bedroom door. He sent his maids texts too come early to clean up the mess from the party. When Beth called out for him quietly, Harrison re-entered the room.

She was tucked into his bed and this felt very domestic. “Sorry I made you puke…”

Beth didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the situation she was in right.  _She puked in front of her crush and now she’s in his clothes and in his room._ But she just plopped back down onto the bed, eyes closed and said, “Surely, I should get a _very_  expensive gift for my troubles. Maybe a sports cars? Or a vacation to Hawaii?” When she didn’t hear Harrison laugh right away, Beth tilted her head towards the door, and cracked an eye open. She smiled then giggled. Harrison smiled as Beth continued smiling.

“I’m just kidding, Harrison. It’s no big deal; you’re letting me sleep in your room after all. But I do except a hot breakfast in the morning.” She smiled when Harrison laughed.

“Deal. I’ll let you sleep now. If you hear someone down stairs, it’s just the maids cleaning. Goodnight Beth.” Harrison said quietly. He turned off the light and crept out of the room.

Beth sighed and closed her eyes. “Goodnight Harrison.” she whispered to herself.


End file.
